The suede shoe, brogue, blucher or monk isthedaytime casual and also thebusiness-shoe-of-choicefor the London "City" (financial district) gentleman. Moreover it is one of the perhaps dozen most basic gentleman’s shoes and has a prominent palace in every collection. Traditionally, black is not worn before 18:00 hours, thus the Brown Suede is perfectly suitable, indeed quite sophisticated, with your gray pin or chalk-striped suit or other business wear. Of course also perfect with a blue blazer and flannel "bags", not to mention any casual dress; kakis, tweeds, checks, corduroys or any earth-tones suitings. I am personally a great fan of suede and I find the Monk in suede at once dressy and relaxed, a shoe, to be sure, in the English taste and one that absolutely distinguishes the wearer. Moreover, this is the kind of shoe that, in this highest of quality calfskin suede, requires no more than a quick brushing when dry, to be clean and fit to wear again.

Jones Bootmaker was founded London in 1857 by Alfred Jones and his wife Emma. Alfred Jones was one of the first to install electric lighting in his shop and people flocked to the store to witness this new phenomenon. After lights out, Emma and Alfred produced a formidable family from which nine sons apprenticed to the shoe trade. Each of these went on to open his own store and to lead the field by introducing ready-made shoes in 3 different widths, starting what has become the tradition in shoe fitting.

By 1955 the number of shops had outgrown the factory's production capacity and the company joined the Church's group. Prada later acquired Church's and in 2001 Jones was sold to private investors. In 2006 a financial consortium acquired a principal interest in Jones and today, after, mergers & acquisitions, off-shore ownership, the tribulations of the financial markets and the debasement of modern marketeers, Jones offer a pitiable down-market product through Amazon and other exponents of the lowest common denominator but the shoe before us is the fine uncompromising English product which was the pride of the old firm for no less than a century. May they one day again shrug of the bonds of Prada and the other base marketeers.